Question

Recently, the Local Government Ombudsman upheld a complaint against Wokingham Borough Council where it had failed to provide suitable transport for a child with additional needs. From what I saw of the case, there seemed to be a number of serious failings in understanding the needs of that child and I would like to know what training and advice is provided to the drivers who provide these school transport services, especially when working with children who need specific care?

Recently, the Local Government Ombudsman upheld a complaint against Wokingham Borough Council where it had failed to provide suitable transport for a child with additional needs. From what I saw of the case, there seemed to be a number of serious failings in understanding the needs of that child and I would like to know what training and advice is provided to the drivers who provide these school transport services, especially when working with children who need specific care?

Answer

All licenced taxi drivers undergo criminal checks, medicals and knowledge checks. In so far as specific training, school transport drivers and passenger assistants are provided with safeguarding training and guidance which includes roles and responsibilities, conduct, expected behaviour, standards and guidelines for passengers with additional needs. In addition should a child require specific care then training for the driver and passenger assistant for medical or behavioural issues can be provided up to and including the provision of NHS nursing staff.

Since the Local Government Ombudsman’s decision was upheld against Wokingham Borough Council specific appeals process training has been provided by an external law firm to the 12 Officers and 4 Members that have an involvement in the appeals process and appeals panel. All Officers and staff that received the specific training now have the knowledge, information and ability to deal with further appeals especially appeals that are high in complexity.

Supplementary Question

What you talked about was appeals rather than helping the people deal with the children. 

On page 45 of your report it talks particularly about continued pressures to school transport reflected in the increasing cost for SEN services out of borough placements.  I would like to know more about what is being done and what you are going to do in the next year to ensure that the school placements within the Borough locally for every child that is possible to place locally?

Supplementary Answer from the Executive Member for Children’s Services

It will come into the context of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy that we are going to be producing later this year.  Already there has been an SEN Strategy Group set up to have a look at solutions to the cost (which is what Councillor Bray’s question is about) of sending children outside the Borough which is very, very, big indeed and it is something I am keeping a very close eye on. 

One of the possible solutions that this Group might come up with will be to bring more children back inside the Borough.  That might possibly be to involve building a new school, which obviously cannot happen overnight, but that could be one of the solutions.  Certainly it is absolutely key to bring children back into the Borough, where they can be brought back into the Borough, because it is very expensive and it does have the transport problems.  There will obviously be some children whose needs can only be met outside the Borough and they will continue to be met in that way.  But one of the consequences of bringing children back inside the Borough into placements within our area will be that there is less spend on transport and less need to use drivers to transport them to school. 

So I hope that will, in a roundabout way, answer your question.